House to outlaw 'revenge porn,' 'catfishing'

All three bills are sponsored by Rep. Rob Bryan, R-Mecklenburg. They received unanimous approval in House Judiciary IV Committee on Wednesday morning.

House Bill 792 makes it a felony to post or disclose images of the "intimate parts" or "sexual conduct" of someone without that person's consent. Anyone who discloses or uses the images could also be subject to up to $10,000 in actual damages, as well as additional punitive damages, in a civil suit.

"There’s a fairly well-known case that came out of California of someone posting some, um, pornography to get back at an old spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, whatever. There’s actually a website for it," Bryan told the committee. "What this bill is doing is actually making that a crime."

"Say this happens to junior high or high school kids. It obviously might," said Rep. John Torbett, R-Gaston. "Would this appear on their juvenile records?"

Bryan responded that it would be dealt with the same way as other crimes committed by minors.

Speaking for the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Alex Miller expressed concern that "images like these could be stolen by someone who isn’t in the relationship and posted online" but called it an important first step.

The second bill, House Bill 793, makes it a felony to take photos or images of someone without their consent in a private setting, such as a bedroom or a bathroom, with the intention to use them to harm, extort, intimidate or defraud that person. The bill would not apply to exterior cameras, such as security systems.

The third bill, House Bill 794, defines a new felony crime of "online impersonation," defined as "engaging in a credible impersonation of of an actual person ... for the purposes of harming, intimidating, threatening, or defrauding another person." A conviction could result in jail time and fines as well as a civil lawsuit for damages.

The bill also defines two victims of the crime – the person being impersonated, whose reputation could be harmed, and any other person who is taken in by the impersonation. It would include social media, text or instant messaging and email.

It would not apply to law enforcement officers attempting to lure online predators or conduct other investigations.

All three bills passed with little debate and are expected to be on the House floor for a vote Wednesday afternoon.